Irish fighting cancer

Â?Pink ZoneÂ? to raise money, awareness

Â?Pink ZoneÂ? to raise money, awareness

February 09, 2009|CURT RALLO Tribune Staff Writer

Jonette Minton wonÂ?t join the Â?pink ribbonÂ? formed by breast cancer survivors on the golden maple court of the Joyce Center at halftime of the Notre Dame womenÂ?s basketball game today until after the pep band blasts out the last notes of the Notre Dame Â?Victory March.Â?

ThatÂ?s when Minton, Notre DameÂ?s cheerleading coach, will join the human Â?pink ribbonÂ? formation. When she links hands with other breast cancer survivors, she will be fighting her emotions as Irish fans shake down the thunder in recognition of their courage. In 2000, the fight for Minton was against cancer.

Minton, a West Virginia native in her 16th season as the Irish cheer coach, detected a lump in her breast in August of 2000, when the Irish cheerleaders had started their preseason training camp. She went in for a mammogram, and then, after the camp, underwent a biopsy.

Â?When I looked at it (mass) on the screen, I saw that it had irregular edges,Â? Minton said. Â?I came back from the appointment feeling that something negative was going on.

Â?When they told me it was cancer, I was devastated,Â? Minton said. Â?You donÂ?t think itÂ?s real. You donÂ?t accept it to be real. But then, you have to accept it, because you have to deal with it.Â?

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This fall, Notre Dame womenÂ?s basketball players Becca Bruszewski and Brittany Mallory headed to the Eck Center for a 12:30 class, walking past trees whose leaves had been touched by the reds, oranges and yellows of natureÂ?s palette. And when they arrived at their Principles of Management class, a different kind of work of art was taking place, art focused on the color pink.

Bruszewski and Mallory, along with nearly 40 other members of their class, helped design the pink

T-shirts that will be handed out to 2,000 fans today and sold to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research Â? the focus of the Pink Zone events at todayÂ?s Notre Dame-DePaul womenÂ?s basketball game. The T-shirts, playing off the fabled blue and gold sign that hangs on the brick wall outside the football locker room at Notre Dame Stadium, urge people to Â?Screen like a champion.Â?

It urges people to get cancer screenings because early detection is a key component in the fight against cancer, and itÂ?s just one part of todayÂ?s Pink Zone event at the Joyce Center.

Center stage belongs to the womenÂ?s basketball game between Notre Dame and DePaul. But they will share the spotlight with breast cancer survivors, and what they hope will be a capacity crowd to show full support for the Irish and the fight against breast cancer.

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It took a while for Minton to accept the fight against breast cancer.

Â?I was in denial,Â? Minton said. Â?I said that I canÂ?t do this right now. I have to get the team ready for the football season. And then one of the nurses told me, if you donÂ?t do this now, you may not be able to do that ever again. I was fighting it the whole way. So I told my doctor, at least let me do the first home game, and he said OK. The Tuesday after that game, I was in Chicago and had the lump removed. I was home two weeks, and then I came back to work. I did whatever I could do.Â?

MintonÂ?s chemotherapy started right away. Her assistant coach worked the home games, but couldnÂ?t work the away games. Minton worked the road trips, scheduled around her chemotherapy.

Â?She handled that so well,Â? Irish womenÂ?s basketball coach Muffet McGraw said of Minton. Â?She kept right on going. She told me about times when she would be laying down in the bus, at a football game somewhere, trying to get some energy to get out and take the cheerleaders out and stuff. She didnÂ?t miss anything. SheÂ?s amazing.Â?

Minton overcame the ravages of her personal war on cancer.

Â?I would get sick and throw up from the chemo, so I scheduled it so I would be ready to go to the games,Â? Minton said. Â?Then my hair started falling out about the end of October. I didnÂ?t want my students to know I was sick, so I wore a wig. I had to undergo radiation. That was everyday, for 35 days. It was not easy at all. I had a lot of denial. I refused to accept that I had cancer. I felt like, if I came to work, it wasnÂ?t real. I wasnÂ?t going to dwell on it.Â?

***

Bruszewski, Mallory and their classmates put on a full-court press in terms of promoting the Pink Zone.

Â?We basically took on the game, designing T-shirts, flyers, trying to get the dorms involved,Â? Bruszewski said. Â?WeÂ?d leave little notes on the tables, in the lunchroom, trying to get people out to the game. At the Purdue game, we had the whole class there to promote the breast cancer awareness game.

Â?We had meetings in the mornings with the teacher, Chuck Lennon, and the team leaders,Â? Bruszewski said. Â?The class was broken up into groups like promoting, organizing, planning. We got St. Joe Medical Center involved. The goal of our class was to spread awareness about breast cancer. ItÂ?s not just in women, but men can get it, too.Â?

Bruszewski and Mallory said they canÂ?t wait to step out onto the Joyce Center court and see the stands packed with pink-clad fans.

Â?When we step out onto the court, weÂ?re going to be representing the Irish and everyone who has fought this,Â? Bruszewski said. Â?This game is going to be really special. IÂ?m very excited about this.Â?

Mallory, who wonÂ?t be playing because of a season-ending knee injury suffered in the Michigan game, said that the event is personal for her.

Â?It feels really good for me, because I know someone back home who has breast cancer, my physical therapist from my first ACL surgery, Alice Cahill,Â? Mallory said. Â?ItÂ?s hard dealing with it, but sheÂ?s doing well. SheÂ?s fighting. SheÂ?s back at work.

Â?ItÂ?s really nice that we can reach out to all of these people and make them aware, to go get the mammograms and do the monthly checks,Â? Mallory said. Â?It feels really good. WeÂ?re both really happy that we got to be a part of this and that it was our game. ItÂ?s more personal this way. This has meant a lot to us.Â?

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When the breast cancer survivors step into the spotlight of a packed Joyce Center, many of them wearing Pink Zone T-shirts that Bruszewski and Mallory helped design, Minton will know that people like her are not going through their battle alone.

Â?It will be heartwarming for me, it will be emotional for me, to know that so many people are involved in raising money for the cause, to know that members of the team did so much for this day, to think of those who didnÂ?t make it,Â? Minton said. Â?ItÂ?s a day for hope and inspiration. I still donÂ?t believe I went through that.

Â?This is very meaningful to me,Â? Minton continued. Â?Coach McGraw and (menÂ?s basketball coach) Mike Brey both do so much to raise money to fight cancer. I admire the (womenÂ?s basketball) team so much for doing community service. ThatÂ?s one thing IÂ?ve always stressed as the cheerleading coach. We are not a competitive team. We are here as goodwill ambassadors for the university. The cheerleaders do a lot of visits to hospitals, retirement centers, schools.Â?

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McGraw is happy her players have given an assist to the Pink Zone.

Â?IÂ?m proud of the way our players are involved in the Pink Zone events,Â? McGraw said. Â?Everybody knows somebody who has been touched by cancer. Our players really loved to be involved in this. They like getting out and into the community and doing things that are going to help other people, especially with (the recent death to breast cancer of North Carolina State coach) Kay Yow, and here with Jo Minton and then in the Big East with (assistant commissioner) Donna DeMarco, there are so many people who are suffering and going through this.

Â?I think itÂ?s important for athletes to embrace service projects,Â? McGraw said. Â?They have to give back. TheyÂ?ve been given a lot. This is an opportunity for them to give something back. Plus, they know all about handling adversity and things like that. I think the stories of survivors are inspirational for us. When our kids look at what Jo Minton went through, and what Kay Yow went through (fighting breast cancer for 21 years), they may think, Â?WeÂ?re worried about winning or losing a game? WeÂ?re worried about missing shots and not playing well?Â? This is whatÂ?s going on in the real world. I think itÂ?s important to keep things in perspective, and this kind of thing really helps put things in perspective.

Â?When I first found out, I didnÂ?t cry. I just said, I canÂ?t do it now,Â? Minton said. Â?The hardest part was telling my husband.Â?

Minton soon realized that the Notre Dame family, including McGraw, were rallying around her.

Â?When you go to get the news from your biopsy, they ask that someone take you to the doctorÂ?s office, because youÂ?re going to be so emotional,Â? Minton said. Â?My husband is disabled. He wasnÂ?t able to take me. I worked out with Muffet a lot. One day in the exercise room she asked me what was going on, and I told her about needing to go to the doctor and get the news, and she immediately said, Â?IÂ?m going to take you.Â? She was there for me. That meant so much to me.

Â?The Notre Dame family was there for me. Chuck Lennon of our Alumni Association called. His wife Joan went through this. He said, Â?IÂ?ll call Joan. WeÂ?ll take care if it.Â? I was like, what do you mean, youÂ?ll take care of it? He said, Â?WeÂ?ll take care of it.Â? The next thing I know, Joan called her doctor and set up an appointment. Even my doctor is part of the Notre Dame family. Dr. Rudy Navarri was sent to me by God. He helped me through all of this.Â?

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McGrawÂ?s Notre Dame womenÂ?s basketball program has set the gold standard, or maybe that should be pink standard, for womenÂ?s basketball programs regarding their commitment to the Pink Zone.

Â?WeÂ?ve been working on the Pink Zone events since last April,Â? the programÂ?s coordinator of basketball operations Stephanie Menio said. Â?As a staff, we wanted to come up with something big, so we thought, letÂ?s challenge the top 20 teams in attendance to see who could raise the most money for breast cancer research and awareness.Â?

Menio and the Irish staff and players have been involved in a variety of Pink Zone events. McGrawÂ?s program also reached out to the campus and South Bend community.

Â?We have been talking to everybody, working to put something together that is going to be fun and raise money for this cause,Â? Menio said. Â?We started last September going full-go. We put together a committee on campus. This is one event that the whole campus is involved.

Â?WeÂ?re almost at $25,000 that weÂ?ve raised so far, and we still have some things to do, like our silent auction that weÂ?re doing before the game. ... ItÂ?s so nice to see so many different people involved in this activity. ItÂ?s so nice to see the community coming together to support this cause. ItÂ?s something that is close to a lot of peopleÂ?s hearts. WeÂ?re planning on having the whole arena pink, and if we sell it out, the Notre Dame womenÂ?s basketball program will donate an additional $10,000 to the cause.Â?

Among the organizations that will benefit are the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center WomenÂ?s Task Force, the Secret Sisters Society and the Young Survivors Group.

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Minton had reason to cheer along with her cheerleaders in the spring of 2001. The battle against cancer was going her way, and the Irish womenÂ?s basketball team captured the national championship.

Â?When the Notre Dame womenÂ?s basketball team went to the Final Four, I told Muffet that they won it for me,Â? Minton said. Â?Later that spring, I was at the license bureau to renew my license. I got a call from the equipment office at Notre Dame. They wanted my ring size. Muffet wanted me to have a national championship ring. I was so happy, I screamed right there in the license bureau.Â?

It is always difficult for Minton to speak of her ordeal. It conjures up a stomach-twisting past of what could have been, the haunting dread of what could be.

Â?Every three months, I get scared when I go to the doctor for a check-up, because IÂ?m afraid the doctor is going to find something,Â? Minton said.

But Minton works up the courage to share.

Â?Years ago, breast cancer was a death sentence,Â? Minton said. Â?Now, we know it is not. Everybody needs to be aware of this. I encourage my students to check and get screened often. This is something that can affect anybody, including young people and athletes.Â?